April 18, 2011

Last weekend was filled with rocks. And you may have guessed by now that I think rocks, well, ROCK. We went to a Rock and Gem Show Saturday. We saw rock slices that look like pictures, rocks that glow under special lights, demonstrations of sphere polishing and stone cutting (faceting), just plain gorgeous rock specimens... I think my favorite this year were chunks of malachite and azurite together with a sparkly crystal formation on the surface. And of course there are usually a few vendors selling stone beads. The top photo shows my finds. Truth be told, I shouldn't have been buying anything, but... Well, you know how it goes! So I came home with (front to back): Grossularite Garnet, Serpentine, Rhyolite (Rainforest Jasper), Lava Rock, Snowflake Obsidian (technically "lava" also), Tourmalinated Quartz (barely visible back there), and Labradorite. All the greens will go wonderfully with my various leaf designs. I was happy to pick out some Tourmalinated Quartz to make a snowflake necklace to sell, similar to one I made for myself last year (only I bought two strands so I won't have to use the glass spacers). I also got three geode slices that were particularly interesting. I think I will hang them below leaf theme pendants, or maybe something else. Eventually they will find their way to my Etsy shop on special necklaces. Check out their amazing feathery variations of color, and tiny sparkling crystals (druzy) lining the inner surface.

Sunday we played hooky from church (something we rarely do), and headed out to the coastal town of Lincoln City. It felt good to get out of town together and see something different! It was cold and windy, but didn't rain. One beach had a lot of smooth rocks, which kept the boys busy checking them all out. Even seemingly ordinary rocks can be very interesting!